


Shadows

by Arthuria_PenDragon



Series: The Path of Ninshū [3]
Category: Naruto
Genre: AU of the AU, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Twins, Best Friends, Bloodline Uzumaki Naruto, Brotherhood, Chakra Chains, Child Neglect, Companion Piece, Completly Random, Deception, Dysfunctional Family, Family Issues, Gen, Indra and Asura are good brothers, Inspired by Quote, Inspired by..., Kekkei Genkai | Bloodline Limit, Medic Uzumaki Naruto, Memories, Mokuton, Namikaze Minato Lives, Naruto-Sasuke Tag Team, Ninja, Ninshu, No Uchiha Massacre, One Shot, Past Lives, Random One Shot, Reconciliation, Recovered Memories, Red-Haired Uzumaki Naruto, Reincarnation, Sensor Uchiha Sasuke, Sensor Uzumaki Naruto, Shadows - Freeform, Sharingan, Snippets, Tag Team, Teamwork, Twins, Uchiha Sasuke & Uzumaki Naruto Brotherhood, Uchiha Sasuke Has a Twin, Uzumaki Kushina Lives, Uzumaki Naruto Has a Twin, Why Did I Write This?, formal speech
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-05
Updated: 2020-11-05
Packaged: 2021-03-08 19:47:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,868
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27392200
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Arthuria_PenDragon/pseuds/Arthuria_PenDragon
Summary: In one universe, Naruto was an orphan from the start. In that universe, the Uchiha paid a bloody price...In THIS universe, both boys have their families, yet once more, they can only – trully– depend on one another.Naruto and Sasuke’s lives in snippets, in a world, where they are like shadows...AKA, an AU of the AU
Relationships: Namikaze Minato & Uzumaki Kushina & Original Female Character(s), Namikaze Minato/Uzumaki Kushina, Ootsutsuki Asura & Ootsutsuki Indra, Ootsutsuki Asura & Uzumaki Naruto, Ootsutsuki Indra & Uchiha Sasuke, Senju Tsunade & Uchiha Sasuke & Uzumaki Naruto, Uchiha Fugaku & Uchiha Itachi & Uchiha Mikoto & Original Female Character(s), Uchiha Fugaku/Uchiha Mikoto, Uchiha Sasuke & Uzumaki Naruto
Series: The Path of Ninshū [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1985195
Comments: 27
Kudos: 144
Collections: Foxy fox 🦊





	Shadows

**Author's Note:**

> This is a random, short something that flashed into my mind, while watching "Kuroko no Basuke".  
> It is, in a way, set in the "Path of Ninshū" Universe, yet is very different from the original...
> 
> NOTE: Italics in brackets are past life scene

> _**I am the shadow that has overcome the light.** _

– Kuroko Tetsuya _(Kuroko no Basuke)_

Konoha was the oldest of the Great Five, by many, considered the perfect village. In many ways the other Hidden Villages aspired to be just like Konoha was — politically and militaristically powerful, manned by shinobi with undying spirit, led by gods, such as Senju Hashirama or Sarutobi Hiruzen or led and manned by prodigies, such as Senju Tsunade, Hatake Saukumo, Namikaze Minato and Hatake Kakashi. Or to be manned and handled by bloody, feared shinobi, who despite everything, wished for the best, like Utatane Koharu, Jiraiya of the Sannin or Uzumaki Kushina.

This was, what Konoha was.

An old village —a dream come true for its founders and citizens. A home.

But despite appearances, Konoha wasn’t perfect. Or, more like the villagers weren’t perfect, for even the best of the best made mistakes or dreamed too big. (If people didn’t dream big, there would have never been Three Great Wars...) Of course, more often such imprefections were hidden from the outside and people were none the wiser, that the charming, compassionate prodigy, who led their village, was in fact a terrible father (at least, to one of his children). Or that the stoic, but underneath the coldness, still a caring man — Uchiha Fugaku, Head of the Uchiha and Leader of the Military Police, was also neglecting one of his children.

These were things, that people could not see. Or maybe... they _didn’t_ _want_ to see.

Uchiha Fugaku was not only a Police and Clan Head, but also the father of three children. A boy — his Heir— a prodigy of the Uchiha, despite his young age, Uchiha Itachi. Fugaku also had two younger children, twins — Sasuke and Satsuki Uchiha. Despite the young age, Satsuki was also showing signs of prodigial talent, like her older brother, which meant, that many of the Clan (especially her father) paid her more attention. And so, the thirds child, Sasuke remained dwelling in the shadows of his prodigy siblings.

Sasuke, if not for his happy-go-lucky cousin — Shisui— who was considered a prodigy of his own kind, would have been completely alone. (Itachi loved both of his sibligns equally, but his father’s demanding nature and his growing shinobi career, made it hard to spend time with his siblings.)

Similar was the situation in the Namikaze household as well, if only _slightly_ different. Minato’s wife was none else, than Namikaze — formerly Uzumaki— Kushina, former Jinchūriki of the mighty Kyūbi no Kitsune. On the night of the twins’ birth, a masked man extracted the Kyūbi from Kushina’s seal, despite their precautions and had nearly destroyed the village. Minato, to save his village —and his family— had split the fox in half sealing the two parts of the beast into his wife and daughter.

And so, Namikaze Kushina and the young Namikaze Nanami. Nanami was, thus from a very early age —along with her parents—, considered a hero of Konoha, for containing the mighty Kyūbi, despite her young age. Her quiet, polite twin thus fell to the background, outshone by Nanami’s “heroic deed“, her obnixious personality and their parents’ great fame.

However, Naruto wasn’t completely alone. His father’s distant cousin (as Minato was in fact, the grandson of Senju Tobirama, even if it wasn’t a widely known fact,) would be there for him. The woman would be his aunt and support, when his family would overlook him and thus, from a very early age, Naruto would greatly rely on Senju Tsunade, if he ever needed anything.

The boys’ lives were anything but perfect... always overshadowed by their siblings, dismissed by their parents with a simply, carelessly uttered “later“.

After they started the Academy, slowly, ever so slowly, they found one another. Drawn to the other by something — a feeling, something they’d never experienced before. Over their Academy years, they became inseperable, even if they hadn’t made many other friends. (“Nanami-chan has a brother?“ “W-wait, I thought Itachi-san only had a sister...?”)

But it didn’t break them. In fact, it brought them closer, made them stronger.

One day, as they sat atop the Hokage Mountain — on Senju Hashirama’s head— Sasuke huffed, glaring down at the ant-sized people in the village. Or rather, glaring towards the general direction of the Uchiha district. (He had it a bit worse, than Naruto himself, as an entire Clan _plus_ the village was around, to compare him to his siblings.)

“I’m getting tired of this, you know. After we graduated, I honestly thought it would get better. That they would pay a bit more attention. But they don’t. It’s still only Shisui-nī and Tsunade-sensei.“Sasuke murmured, “In fact, I’m happy we have your aunt as sensei, you know. Other Uchihas would make a fuss... but sometimes you, Shisui and her feel more like a family, than my actual family.”

“Same here.“ Naruto addmitted, “Tsunade was my mother and aunt in one person. My parents are always busy training Nanami, to help her improve, to control the Kyūbi or supress it on her own, if needed. It gets tiresome, after too many times —when you suggest something and they don’t hear you. As if I wasn’t even present. As if I was just a shadow and sometimes, it feels like you’re my realy sibling and not Nanami.”

Sasuke hummed. “Shadow, huh? For sure — always outshone by our _prodigious_ siblings. But shinobi dwell in the shadows... traceless and dangerous. We can show them, that shadows are more dangerous, than light. That sometimes, shadows _can_ overtake light.“ their eyes met and Sasuke smiled a bit, “Yeah. It really does feel like as if you were my otōto.“ he said, patting the red bird’s nest of hair Naruto had.

Naruto pouted. “Otōto? Hey! I’m just a few months younger, than you.”

Sasuke grinned, messing up the red locks even more. “Yes, just a few months, but you’re still _younger_ , Otōto.”

The redhead rolled his eyes, but they still shone, his lips curling upwards, just a bit. “Whatever makes you sleep at night, Nī-san.”

* * *

It happened during their first — catastrophic— C-rank mission. It would be a day neither Tsunade, not her students would ever forget.

Tsunade had decided to take both of them as her apprentices (that caused some murmur in the Uchiha Clan as well as the village,) and she trained them as their Jōnin-sensei.

A mission, that took them to Nami no Kuni, escorting an old (drunk) bridge builder back home. As it turned out, the man had shinobi after him, due to the drug dealer, who controlled Nami’s economy. And so, Team 13 encountered Momochi Zabuza, one of the former Kiri Shinobigatana Shichinin Shū. In the end, the man had escaped, but they knew he’d come back along with his partner. They stayed in Nami until the man — Tazuna—finished his bridge and a bit before it was done, Zabuza returned.

Tsunade had dealt with him and in the meanwhile, the boys were left to deal with his apprentice, Haku a member of Kiri’s Yuki Clan. Haku was skilled and a master of his Kekkei Genkai, the _Hyōton_ , for his age and the ice dome he trapped the boys in, had proved difficult to deal with.

Sasuke growled, gripping the kunai in his hand tightly. All the tough training Tsunade forced them to endure every day, had awakened his Sharingan and he had one tomoe in each — yet, even like that, he was too slow, to catch the fake Hunter-nin. Too slow to protect Naruto. His brother.

But he would try. They had sworn to stay together, no matter what — to show the world, who they were. So as he saw the hail of senbon, he leapt right in front of Naruto, his kunai vibrating with Raiton chakra. _Protect. Protect. Protect._ Something old, powerful — almost priminal—chanted in his mind. Naruto was his most precious friend. This masked freak would not take the only person from him, who unerstood, how he felt.

_(For a moment, he was in a dense, unknown, yet still familiar forest. His brother was behind him, clutching their puppy, Shiro. But in that moment, he could only focus on the massive boar, that was heading towards his most precious person. Hand crackling with lightning, he leapt forwards, the blue electricity almost slicing the massive animal in half.)_

Colours. Flashes. Sounds. Names. Something was there, in the back of his mind. Something old, foreign, yet still familiar.

_(He remembered the anger. The bitterness, the jelousy. He remembered the power coursing trough his veins, as Susano’o took shape... he remembered Asura’s wind-coated sword sinking into his flesh, the fresh blood tainting his pristine white kimono.)_

He looked at Naruto, body heavy from all the senbon he’d taken, who’s sky blue eyes were wide, shocked and brimming with tears, his blood-red hair seemingly even more messy, than usual. He smiled faintly as he fell.

“Gomen’nasai, Asura-chan. You had been right.” he breathed, before the world went dark.

* * *

Naruto watched wide-eyed and trembling, as Sasuke shielded him from the senbon. Protected him.

Then, their eyes met and Sasuke smiled sadly, full of regrets and unspoken words... yet he still understood them. He understood evey word even without the Uchiha saying them. His red eyes were familiar — powerful.

“Gomen’nasai, Asura-chan. You had been right.“ Sasuke whispered, the words soft, barely audible, spoken with a foreign, yet familiar dialect...

Sasuke fell and before his eyes closed, Naruto saw it. His Sharingan shone before the single tomoe turned into three and then the three tomoe moulded into a star-like pattern...

_(“I will always protect you, Asura.“ his big brother whispered, his eyes burning red, a single tomoe in them, as they sat on the forest floor, clinging to one another, Shiro’s motionless body between them, the boar fallen, a few feet away. “No matter what, I will always protect you, that’s what big brothers do.”)_

Sasuke fell his pale skin tainted with thin red lines of blood, paler than usual. He remembered Sauske’s eyes — the light in them. Dimming. Dying... no. No. NO!

Sasuke. **_Indra_**.

 _“NĪ-SAMA!”_ he cried, chakra lashing out in a wave, chakra chains shooting from his back.

Fūinjutsu was the only thing his parents had bothered to “teach“ him, to make sure he was occupied, while they taught Nanami and as such, he had figured out how to form him mother’s chains and since then he’d been training on his own to form them, altough he could only form about one or two, at once...

But chains weren’t the only things his that formed, from his chakra. From the wood of of the bridge, roots and branches fromed, wrapping around the ice mirrors and crushing them, which forced the masked ninja out of them, crushing the white mask. (It was _him_ — the boy from the forest they’d met a while ago... Haku.)

The boy looked up at him, his brown eyes wide, probably overwhelmed by his presence. _(Once he had been called talentless, but as time went by, his power bloomed and his presence had become powerful, stronger than Indra’s, compared to his father, by his family and followers.)_

Haku shook, terror radiating from his very beign, as he approached and Naruto looked at the other with sad eyes. “I wish we could have met in different circumstances, Yuki-san. But once, I’ve lost my brother... and I have no intention of losing him again.”

* * *

Sasuke sighed, as they walked trough the village gates after the Nami mission. After what happened, Tsunade had been shocked into silence. She had asked them to tell her what happened, while she took out Zabuza and they did. Well told her most of it, but not about remembering a life, a time, which others all thought of as history.

At this point, people thought that their father was naught but a legend and none knew about how chakra trully came to be possessed by their father or how he had distributed it to other humans. So, they didn’t mention reincarnation — it was between him and Asura. The faud had been started by them and it would be done with them.

Walking back home, knowing what he did now, remembering everything, was strange.

He hardly considered his family a proper one. What parent forgot about a child, just because the others were more talented? He had never been like that with his children. What had become of his kin?

In the following days, it was hard to treat his mother, as his mother. _(His memories of_ _Ōtsutsuki Adya were brief, but he remembered, how much she had loved him. How much love she had shown Asura in the short minutes, before the breath of life had left her. It was, he thought, how a mother was susposed to look at her child. At how Shachi and Kana had looked at their own...)_

He barely existed, whenever at home. It was like he was a ghost, a shadow. But that was okay. He had gotten used to it, by now... now at least, he knew he wasn’t alone. He had never been alone. he had his brother —Asura had always stood by him, no matter what, had even tried to protect him, when the Bijū had cried bloody murder, after Zetsu had taken control. His baby brother had never wanted anything, than his love. His attention.

And Sasuke swore, that he would not be a shitty sibling again. He would not be arrogant again (like Satsuki was now) or too busy as he had been and as Itachi was. Alright, it wasn’t entirely Itachi’s fault, but it still stung somewhat... Where had the policies of family disappeared off to, from the minds of his kin? The policies he’d taught his children...

He sighed and walked into the kitchen. His mother was cleaning up after breakfast and he raised an eybrow at her. “Is there any food left?“

She whirled around and looked at him with wide eyes, as if she hadn’t even felt his presence, which was odd, because Tsunade had remarked that after the mission, his and Naruto’s presence had changed somewhat and she could feel it, without being a Sensor type.

“Oh, we’ve alreay finished and there’s none, but you...“she started. He shook his head and whirled on his heels. Maybe he should drop by and see if Shisui was home. If his cousin wasn’t he could still find his baby brother and they could spend the day together.

* * *

Naruto chuckled it was fun to watch his aunt’s expression, as he practiced Mokuton. He went trough a series of handsigns and slammed his hand on the ground.

 **“Mokuton: Saku Hanabatake.”** (Wood Release: Blooming Flower Field)

As the chakra took effect, the training ground was suddenly overtaken by hundreds of colourful, blooming flowers and as he snapped his fingers, the flowers’ petals detached, flying towards his aunt, like countless tiny senbon.

Training with her was fun.

* * *

Then, the Chūnin Exams came and they encoutered Subakku no Gaara of Suna, the Jinchūriki of Shukaku. It had been luck, that the redhead had been left alone for a bit and they could apprach him and stabilise his seal. It was after that, that Gaara revealed Suna’s intentions of invasion. And, the Suna-nin had readily accepted them as brothers. And, Naruto thought that he even had a sort of special bond with the younger, as redhead with redhead.

The Forest of Death was no challenge — they’d made it to the middle among the first ones, only beaten by the three Sand Siblings. But too many had made it, so there had been preliminary rounds.

They won theirs —both him and Sasuke. As expected, the people barely noticed them. He had even heard, that some had asked, who they were, as if their clothing, the symbols on them, to be exact, weren’t obvious enough.

But of course everyone recognised Nanami and Satsuki. The girls almost shone in the arena, or so some claimed and the crowds went wild, when they saw the “youngest Uchiha prodigy“ and the “Hero of Konoha“.

And then the enemy moved. The Invasion was pure chaos, but at the very least, Shukaku hadn’t gone on rampage. Luckily, the visiting Kage were all safe, but not so luckily, Orochimaru had escaped. In the following weeks, they had more missions, than usual, which made it hard to train.

Actually, following the mess, if not for Tsunade’s interference, they would not have been prompted to Chūnin, because the _esteemed_ Yondaime simply _forgot_ they existed.

After all, they couldn’t forget about Zetsu and that he planned to break Chibaku Tensei, to resurrect their mad grandmother. One had to wonder, how somone like Madara had even come across the story of the Shinju, in the first place...

But as usual, they were barely noticed. Honestly, shinobi life was about being in the shadows, but this was ridiculous. Every drop of attention went to Satsuki and Nanami — who by the way, was proud of holding a free creature captive. That was another thing... Kurama’s captivity —as well as the other Bijū’s sitiation— left a bitter taste in their minds. Their older siblings _weren’t_ mindless monsters.

The real blow came, Minato stepped down as Hokage, giving the hat to his fomer student, Kakashi. And he left the village with Nanami and Kushina to train, because of a looming organisation, named Akatsuki, who were apperently targeting Jinchūriki.

And Naruto was left in the village.

“The _nerve_ of them...!” Sauske snarled, lightning arching from his hand, tearing up the soil, tuining their abandonned training ground further.

Naruto — _Asura_ , these days using the ancient name was better, as despite everything, bearing that name meant he had a family, a family, who _cared_ — sighed. “Relax, Nī-sama. I don’t care much anymore — I still have you, Oba-san and Shisui. It’s alright.”

“How can it be alright...?!“ Sasuke — _Indra_ — snarled, his eyes flashing into the Mangakyō. “They just left you here!”

Asura sighed. “I live with Oba-san anyway and you know it. Well not officiallly, but it does feel that way. At least now, it will be official and Kakashi can’t say anything about it. It will give Oba-san a reason to make me the Heir of the Senju. She’s been looking for an excuse to do it, for a while now.”

His brother sighed and walked over to him, sitting next to him and giving him a hug. “Still...”

“ ** _We_** are the family.“ Asura said, “They are my blood... but blood does not make family. They’d proved that.”

“Speaking about family...“ Indra whispered, “We should seek out the Bijū. I don’t want them unprepared for Akatsuki. We’re responsible for their wellbeing, in a way.”

“I know. And we’ll do everything we can, to prevent this mess.“

There was a heartbeat of silence and then he chuckled.

Indra raised an eyebrow at him. “What is it now?“

“For the first time in years, we may just benefit from being like shadows. We can tell Oba-san why we want to leave and she could convince Kakashi. if he, as the Hokage agrees, we’re free to go. No one will notice. Not the adults, nor our peers. Our classmates had always been too busy trying to get Nanami’s and Satsuki’s attention anway.”

His brother snorted. “You’re right.”

* * *

 ** _‘Ninshū: Shiroi Honō: Todoroku Tora.‘_** (Shinobi Creed: White Flames: Roaring Tiger) he thought, as he released the great steam of snow-white flames, which then formed into a tiger head. The flames crackled so loudly, that it seemed the tiger was roaring, before it collided with the target several feet away, practically blowing the thing up and leaving an ashen patch in its wake.

Smiling in satisfaction, he turned to his cousin— big brother— with an innocent smile. This was the first time he showed Shisui his past life’s speciality. Seeing the look on Shisui’s face, one his flames faded was most entertaining.

Shisui gaped at him. “What was _that_?!“ he made a gesture at the spot, where the target stood just minutes ago, “Ju-just how powerful is your chakra?”

Indra smiled. “Those, Shisui-nī are my _new_...“ a lie, but Shisui didn’t need to know that, “and _favourite_ way of performing Katon.“ Now that wasn’t a lie. He _loved_ his White Flames. “I call them _Shiroi Honō_. A sort-of degraded version of _Amaterasu_ , which doesn’t require a Mangeykō. Almost as hot, altough it can be put out by natural means, whereas Amaterasu cannot.”

“Holy shit...“ Shisui choked.

Indra laughed. It was so fun to train with his big brother. He wasn’t just a good sparring partner, but he loved shocking the hell out of the older with old Ninshū techniques from time to time. It was one of his favourite passtimes, other than spending time with Asura.

* * *

Indra grinned, as he handled his new vest — it was just four months after that particular training session with Shisui and they’d participated in the Jōnin Exam, altough he had no idea, how his cousin slipped the forms onto the Clan Head‘s desk to be signed. Not that it mattered.

“We’re officially Jōnin, Nī-sama!” Asura beamed, “Isn’t it wonderful?“

“Yes, it is. How about we celebrate with some yakitori?“

His brother beamed at the mention of his favourite food. “I like the idea.” Skipping like a five-year-old, Asura headed towards their usual place.

Indra was in such good mood, that he couldn’t find it in himself, to reprimand his brother for acting the way he was. In fact... maybe, just maybe his own steps may have been lighter, than they usually were. (No, he _wasn’t_ skippping. He was the former Prodigy of Ninshū, he still had his dignity, _thank your very much_.)

* * *

Nanami’s training trip with her parents lasted three years. In the meanwhile, Satsuki had been trianed and coddled too.

Indra couldn’t care less. The real trials would start now — his _former_ sister had little experience in war. He knew what it was like. The feud between him and his baby brother could be categorised as war of a different age, he supposed.

It didn’t matter.

When Akatsuki made their move him and Asura were ready, but despite all the preparations and precautions, they weren’t fast enough. Seven of the Nine Bijū had been captured by the masked man whom they knew, as Tobi. (And that meant that only three Jinchūriki of the nine lived — Gaara had been resurrected with a Suna jutsu— and Bee and Nanami hadn’t been caught.)

The war was a mess. Despite the efforts of the Allied Shinobi forces, Madara and Obito were winning. Hell, the Shinju was on the verge of blooming!

Asura cursed and slowly picked himself from the ground, looking at his brother. Indra had grown out his hair again, over the years and it was usually kept in a majestic cylinder, like in the past, but now, the tape that had held it together was gone and the long tresses were bothering his brother. He chuckled, as his brother fought with his unruly hair. (He still remembered, the day when people first noticed his brother’s long hair. _Trully_ noticed them. One of the old fools compated his brother’s appearance to Madara... and landed himself in intense care, due to burn marks.)

He unwrapped his arm from the tape and carefully grabbed his brother’s wild mane to rewrap it.

Tsunade and Gaara, who were not far away, looked at them with a disbelieving stare. “Seriously?“ the female Sannin asked, “You’re _seriously_ concerned about hair when we’re facing something, that could be called a god?!”

“Yes, I’m concerned about hair.“ Indra deadpanned, the red of his Sharingan sharper, than any other Uchiha’s on the battlefield, due to the blue paint under his eyes.

Asura grinned, as he stood. “Done, Nī-sama.”

Indra stood up as well and they walked slowly towards the very front, where the other Kage were. And Uzumaki Kushina too — the redhead woman stood, wrapped in boiling orange-red, four-tailed Bijū cloak. Unlike Nanami, she’d never been able to fully control Kurama’s power, their brother way too angry at her to let it happen. In fact, Nanami herself only could use the power, when she forcefully seperated it from Kurama (which had further enraged their brother).

Indra looked critically at Kushina and the redhead frowned a bit at his sharp gaze. “Otōto can you...?“ he murmured, looking at his brother. They only had a chance, if Kurama was willing to work with them...

* * *

Asura nodded, knowing what his brother wanted to ask and sooner, than the redhead woman could react, he grabbed her, wrapping his Mokuton-enhanced chains around her. Her eyes went wide. “Naruto what are you...?”

“Don’t call me _that_.“ he told her.

_For a moment, he landed in her seal — a dark, dready sever, which made him wonder how hadn’t his brother gone mad yet...— and for the first time in hundreds of years, he was face to face with his oldest brother, well at least one half of him._

_Kurama’s red slits went wide. **“A-Asura?“**_

_He bowed to him. “Nī-sama. I would ask for your assistance. We need to cut down the Shinju and stop Madara. Only you and Gyūky remain for now... we need to free the others.”_

**_“I cannot help you from here.“_ ** _he said._

_Asura sighed. “That’s why I’ll be resealing you into myself. And then I’ll open the seal.”_

_For a moment, Kurama studied him with sharp eyes and then he huffed. **“Anything is better, than becoming one with the Shinju... or staying with this annoying woman.“**_

Once he snapped back into reality, he bit his thumb, drawing blood and quickly scribed a few symbols on his wrist, while scribing a single release seal onto the other redhead’s collarbone. Her eyes went wide. The Yondaime tried interfering, only for Indra to stop him with a firm hand, trapping the blonde in Susanno’o ribcare to stop him from teleporting.

“Wh-what are you doing Naruto-chan?”

His blue eyes flashed. “I’m doing what I should have done years ago. And _do not_ call me that, or the Shinju help me, I’ll toss you onto the rubble, that has been left of Uzushio.”

 _“Fūin!”_ he called, as his chakra blazed. The seal formed on his body and slowly, a single chakra chain passed into her seal to drag Kurama out. The other three Kage, just watched in shock and confusion.

A few minutes later, the process was done, the chakra tearing at his clothes and revealing the new seal on his abdomen, while the one form Kushina was gone. Her eyes were wide, sweat forming on her brow. A second time of losing Kurama wasn’t doing her good.

No other chance, then... **“Infūin: Kai!”** (Yin Seal: Release)

His Byakugō spread across his body and then onto her body. He raised his hand into a Snake seal and allowed Mokuton chakra to mix into the healing process, restoring just a little bit of her life force, ensuring her continoued survival. He may not be a fan of her attitude and her parenting skills, but she was still his mother in this life and he cherished those of his blood.

As the healing took effect, the paleness of her skin was redused, her eyes shining with strenght again, her chakra reserves fully restored. Once he was done, he allowed the Byakugō to revert onto his forehead, into the basic state, before letting her go and taking a step back.

Indra let the Yondaime free as well and looked at him with a grin. “ _Ikuzo, Asura_.”

He smirked, closing his eyes. Kurama’s grin flashed in front of his mind’s eyes, as he tore the seal open and their chakra harmonised again, like it had happened so long ago. As the power flooded his body and appeared around him in a blaze of gold, the Kage choked.

“I-immediately? _Full_ control?“ the Hokage whispered.

Asura turned his slit gaze to the blonde man. “The Bijū are my siblings, Namikaze-san. Few know them better, than I do.” he answered, stepping next to Indra.

They joined hands and then Indra’s Susanno’o covered Kurama.

They leapt right at the enemy, without waiting for anyone to recover from the shock or making sense of what just happened.

For the first time in years, they were the ones, whom others paid attention to. They were shadows, yet they were not. For the first time in history, him and Indra were _equals,_ in every sense of the word. They were similar in more ways, than one. He wasn’t light and Indra wasn’t shadow.

No, _they_ were the shadow. (Nanami and Satsuki were —had been— the light.)

And for the first time since the Dawn of Chakra, shadows had overcome the light. It was a phenomenon, something impossible.... something that not even Madara, Zetsu or their grandmother had expected.

Wood, fire and Bijū chakra scarred the land, forever reminding humanity of the inhuman prowess of the Ōtsutsuki Clan. For him and Indra were of the Ōtsutsuki — the only ones currently alive, who wished for the _prosperity_ of Earth.

Despite the stuggle, they had won. For Madara had claimed to want peace, had claimed to be the light...

...but for once (and perhaps the only time) shadows had overcome the light.


End file.
